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He,(PB UH)took the pledge from women just as he did from men without touching their hands
Allah commanded the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam,
to take their pledge of allegiance.
Allah Says (what means):
«O Prophet, when the believing women come to you pledging to you that they will not associate anything with Allah, nor will they steal, nor will they commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor will they kill their children, nor will they bring forth a slander they have invented between their arms and legs1 , nor will they disobey you in what is right, then accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.»
[Quran: 60:12]
Commenting on this verse, As-Si’di (a scholar) said: “The conditions mentioned in the verse were part of the pledge given by wom- en. They used to pledge to fulfill the obligations that were common with men thatboth had to do all the time. However, men have different obligations depending on their situations and ranks. The Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to adhere to the command of Allah, and whenever women would come to give him the pledge of allegiance, and would pledge to adhere to the set conditions, he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would accept their pledge.
He would supplicate for their forgiveness for whatever shortcomings they had and would include them in the general term of ’Believers‘.
Amongst the conditions is not to associate partners with Allah, not to commit unlawful sexual intercourse like women used to do in the pre-Islamic era where some women would do so as a form of prostitution or by having illicit relation- ships with men. They also had to pledge not to kill their children as ignorant women used to do before the advent of Islam.
As for bringing forth slander, they were forbidden from doing so, whether it was related to their husbands by attrib- uting a false child to him, or slandering others in general.
Additionally, they had to pledge to obey the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in what is right, because all he commanded was right, like obeying him in not slapping their faces and tearing their clothes when afflicted by adversity.
If they pledged and adhered to all these conditions, then he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was commanded to accept their pledge and supplicate Allah for their forgiveness for any shortcomings that they might have. The verse ends highlighting two great qualities of Allah, His Mercy and Forgiveness, and that He, The Almighty, is Oft Forgiving for those who disobey and Kind to those who repent, and His mercy encompasses everything and everyone, and His kindness envelopes all creatures.”2
Umaymah bint Ruqayqah (a female Companion) narrated:
“I went to the Prophet of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with a group of women from the Ansaar to give him the pledge of allegiance. We said: ‘O Mes- senger of Allah! We pledge not to associate anyone with Allah, nor will we steal, nor will we commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor will we kill our children, nor will we bring forth a slander we have invented between our arms and legs, nor will we disobey you in what is right.’ He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “As much as you can bear and your capability allows.” We replied: ‘Allah and His Messenger are the most merciful to us. O Messenger of Allah, We pledge to adhere’ He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “I do not shake hands with women. What I say to one woman is good for a hundred women
4 .”3
A pledge is very beneficial in that it obliges the person to fulfill what they pledged to do (or refrain from). One would always remember it and thus is encouraged to fulfill it.
المراجع
- This is an allusion to pregnancy and childbirth, i.e. to falsely attribute a child (whether adopted or born of adultery) to a woman’s husband.
- Tafseer As-Si’di (857/1).
- Meaning, when I command one is like commanding a hundred; the pledge is accepted and they are all obliged to adhere, and it is not needed for every woman to pledge separately.
- Reported by At-Tirmithi (1597) Ibn Maajah (2874) An-Nasaa’i (4181).
